Adara's Secret
by Elskestar
Summary: Adara is an Earthling whose special Gift gets her transported to Valdemar, but what is this strange Gift? What trouble will it cause?
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing except the characters that I create and the plot The Wonderful Lady Lackey owns EVERYTHING!!!!!**

_This means a thought _

: This is mind speaking:

This means a flashback

**Adara's Secret**

By

Elske-Star

She awoke to a headache that felt as if she had a Jack-hammer to her scull. Slowly she tried to open her eyes only to see that her vision had gone all green and blurry-_wait GREEN?!?_ She blinked a few more times to try and focus her vision.

_Where am I? _She jolted upright and immediately lay down as the pounding in her head seemed to magnify, if that was possible.

The last thing that she remembered was going to the store with her best friend then... she couldn't remember what happened.

Since she couldn't sit up, she decided to roll over to see what was around her, and then it hit her,_ this isn't any place I know!!!_

The place that she was was covered in lush green grass and surrounded by trees that seemed to wrap an endless acreage of land_ this must be one weird dream _she thought as the pounding seemed to lessen

She sat there trying to remember what happened while she waited for the pounding to subside

"Hey Adara, do you wanna come with me to pick up some junk-food?"

"Yeh, I'll be there once I finish my essay"

"Ugh, I hate school," Jay sighed, "at least we only have two more years of unpaid, underappreciated, and unfair work"

When the pounding finally subsided to a bearable hurt-when-you-move-to-fast ach, Adara finally stood up and looked around what she saw was not what she had thought it was she stood off to one side of a circular field and in the center was a large tower that seemed to pulse with an unnatural light that was both white and blue at the same time it seemed that it was somehow calling her and before she knew it she was halfway across the field and the need to go was getting stronger with every step that she took and the need to just BE there was scaring her in no little way, but as soon as she felt ready to panic she felt as if little waves of comfort were flowing from the tower as if assuring her that coming would make everything alright and the big empty space in her would be filled with happiness. Before she could question this feeling she was at the doorstep of the tower and the need to come just vanished out of thin air

Adara paused and turned around when she felt eyes on her back. What she saw almost made her faint.

Four white riders on white horses, _wait does that sound familiar, _all surrounding her all seemed to look familiar one on a well muscled horse who had scars and looked emotionless, one small woman on a horse that the comfort seemed to be flowing off of, one who had the majestic yet worn look of a woman who had to make many decisions and didn't like some of them, and one was a handsome man who was obviously in love with the Lady and seemed to be under a lot of stress.

The Lady said something that was smooth and silky but completely unknown to Adara so she gave the Lady a confused look.

Scar-face said some thing in a guttural language as if trying to break the language bearer which earned him a look of confusion.

When Stress tried an other language, she just gave them a blank face and turned back to the tower only to find that there was one more white horse that was starring at the tower as if in the same trance-like state that she was in earlier.

Seemingly just noticing her look the horse-_no not horse, he is something greater_- turned and looked into her eyes...


	2. Chapter 2

Note: I have not been able to refer back to the books, so my spelling should be off. I do not do this on purpose,

**Adara's Secret**

Chapter Two

She felt as is she was swimming in an ocean. She was so free. She wasn't scared anymore. That endless blue expanse should have scared her, it would have too, but she was anchored. She was safe.

"I am Rive. I Choose You."

It was as if a great wave washed her clean.

All too soon her Companion, HER Companion, looked away and nodded to the group behind Adara.

Adara remembered then. She looked into those faces, she knew those terms from somewhere. She was, in all accounts, in a book. Maybe a book that has not yet written, maybe it was just a scratch paper that a college student was writing on, but this, this couldn't happen.

All around her, the noises faded, the colors dimmed, and the world turned black.

___

_Mmmm this is nice. I'm so warm. When did my bed get this soft? Am at Camo's again? Someone is talking. __Gary__ must have forgotten his hearing aids again. He always has the TV really loud when he forgets those. But, wait, that doesn't sound like a TV, it is too close. I don't know that voice. What is she saying? I... I don't understand. _

I try to open my eyes, they seem to be stuck. I wiggle my fingers a bit, those still work. Slowly I reach up to my eyes, they are crusted over_, yuck_. I have always had sensitive eyes. My face attracts objects. More specifically, my mouth and eyes attract objects. I always get that stray hair or eyelash in my eyes. Most likely, with all that green, I got a slight case of allergies. Slowly, I pull the crusts out of my eyelashes. I force my eyes open and blink, it is dark out, I notice a flickering light in the corner.

_Ow! My head_. I quickly close my eyes and use my hands to block out that too bright candle. Someone speaks; the light in the room is dimmed. I slowly peak around my fingers. A green robed person moved in front of the light. She says something, I shake my head, I don't understand. She lifts my hand up and puts a warm mug in it. She pushes this to my face and says that word again. _Oh! She wants me to drink!_ I lift the mug up to my lips and sniff. My eyes go wide and I push it away from my face. _That smells horrible._ She once again pushes this substance to my face. She motions to her head and makes a face as if it was in pain. She points to the drink and relaxes her face. I nod; this drink will help with the headache.

I take a deep breath and plug my nose before chugging this thing. It is awful. As soon as I finish she replaces the mug with a piece of bread. She makes a disgusting face and motions to take a bite. I think she meant to say that the bread is to make the taste go away. _I hope._ Gingerly, I take a tiny bite. _Freshly baked, still warm, whole grain!_ I smile and take a bigger bite. _I could get used to this type of food!_ The woman nods and walks out of the door. I look around at this room. It is very small; the one bed, a table with the candle on it, a small dresser, white walls, a door the she used and another door_. I wonder where this goes._ I slowly sit up, remembering the pain I had from just looking at the candle. I stop and look at the candle. _My head is already doing better!_ I am wearing a loose robe. Better than the hospital gowns where I am from. How do they manage to make clothing that makes you feel more exposed than when you are actually nude? I am covered and it is warm so I don't bother to explore the dresser.

On closer inspection, the door seems to be made of two parts, much like those seen in the country, or ticket booths. I just want to look out, so I only open the top part. I guess they have some sort of heating device because when I open that I get a small gust of cold air. Burrrr! It is sunny out, and I seem to be next to a well manicured garden. There is a white shape sniffing at the leaves near by. No, it is a rather large white shape. It turns to look at me and I see a gleam of humor in her eyes.

:Good afternoon, Chosen:

I stop. The voice triggers a memory.

"Chosen?"

:Yes dear, I Chose you.:

"How? Why?"

:As to "how" I formed a bond between us, the link was there so I knew you where to be my other half. Why? I can not say. You have very strong gifts and a powerful mind, but even though I am a Companion, I do not know everything.:

"I know that, I read that in the books. You where once a Herald, just like all the other Companions, except the grove-born... They where called by Valdemar himself."

:How do you know this? What books?:

"The books that are written in my world. They are, _where?_ Fiction. I read them, well most of them. Hey, how do you know what I am saying when everyone else is speaking something weird?"

:I learned when I Chose you, plus you are echoing through our bond.:

"Can I learn the other language?"

:You will.:

There was a knock on the other door. I looked to Rive and she nodded. I walked to the other door, leaving the door to Rive open. The scarred man was there.

:Alberich:

"Alberich?"

The man paused, and then said something I couldn't understand. I looked to Rive.

:He is surprised you know his name, he wants to take you to the dean to get your classes in order, but I would wait until you have a better grasp on our language. Repeat after me...:

"I ar.. am seary... sorry... Rive trasluted... trans...late fur muh...for me."

I blush at my lack of language skills, but he nods, and says something else before closing the door.

:He says he understands, Valdemerian was not his first language as well. If I am to translate for you then he will meet you in the garden after you are properly dressed.:

I walk to the dresser and pull out some fabric, it isn't something I have seen before and I glance at Rive.

:If you keep the top of this door open I will tell you how to get dressed. I will also make sure that no one comes this way.:

I nod and look through the clothes as she gives me the names of them. I did notice that they have simple bands in place of a proper bra. I go through the next drawer and find my clothes, freshly clean. I pick out my bra and panties, I want to be able to wear the outfit, but I will stick to my comfort area, whether I have to learn to sew my own clothes or not. I slowly got dressed with her direction. I hear Alberich try to get past Rive. He can't.

He may have grown up in these times, He may be used to this type of clothes, _I_ am not. It will take me awhile.

I look in the mirror and notice how badly tangled my curly hair got_. Let the man wait. I look like a rat nested in my hair._ I shuffle around for a few more minutes, looking for anything that resembles a hair brush, but I only find a comb_. This will take awhile. I think Alberich is swearing. He should learn how to wait._ I am pretty fast with my hair nonetheless; I rarely do more than put it in a pony tail or a simple braid. I have nothing to put my hair up with. At first glance he must have thought my hair was shoulder length, combed out, it rested at the bottom of my ribcage.

I think I am ready and nod to myself as I open the bottom half of the door and step out to meet the Weaponsmaster.

He is pacing, not a good sign. I remember the language barrier and ask Rive to remind him that I am unused to their type of clothes. She sends me something like laughter and informs me that she has been trying to do just that. He looks at me and sighs. Turning and walking away I guess that I am to follow him. I remember that there is no language barrier in mindspeach, so I turn to Rive.

"How do I speak like you? It may be easier for me to talk with him if I can."

I don't know how she does it, but she shows me my mind and pulls a string. She wordlessly tells me that this in my mindspeach gift. I take hold of it remembering the stories I find Alberich 's mind and tap on it. He looks at me, I think he is confused. I make a knocking motion with my hands and he nods.

:I am not used to this, am I doing it right?:

:Yes, I am taking you to the dean of the Heralds Collegium.:


	3. Chapter 3

**I own nothing except the characters that I create and the plot The Wonderful Lady Lackey owns ****EVERYTHING!!!!!**

_Thought _

:mindspeaking:

Flashback

-Sign language-

**Adara's Secret**

By

Elskestar

The Collegium is huge. Not just a large building, but something you would expect to see if you where visiting a castle. On one side I could see large chunks of stone that looked like they would be impossible to put into place, I figure it was done by magic. On the other side though, it was made of big thick bricks, small windows and wooden doors. There are huge trees. Full trees too, not like the little saplings they plant on the sides of roads. It looks like they have even been planted far enough away from the building to dissuade thieves. Not that I would have any experience in that.

Somehow they managed to keep the grass trimmed down short, yet plush, I wonder how they do that? I am sure they don't have a lawn mower. _And the gardens_. Oh they are a sight! I do not have a "green thumb," but I do love to look at gardens. I really must have come at the right time because they where full of color, almost every flower in bloom, not a single wilting flower in sight! Whoever does the gardening is high in my books!

We could take the indoor route, but I am so excited about looking around I don't even notice Alberich motioning the door and I keep walking. There are huge bird nests in the trees! _I am lucky if I can find one or two in my neighborhood! Oh! I hear chirping! There must be little ones! Oh how I would love to climb up and watch them grow up!_

I think Alberich gets tired of this, but I noticed an almost-twitch in the corner of his mouth. He grabs my elbow and steers me into the next entrance, one semi-hidden by the bushes. He sighs and shakes his head. I wonder if he knows American Sign Language? Or I guess it would be Valdemerian Sign Language. I ask -how are you?-

He pauses and tilts his head. He signs back! -Follow quick-

-I not fast sign-

He nods and continues to walk.

Finally something! Sadly, I only took one ASL class and the teacher's skills where questionable. I guess I will have to learn more from Alberich.

I almost expected the hallways to be dark and dreary, like the pictures of old European castles, but this place was still in use. I visited a Fort in Florida once, it was minimal in, well, anything. The Collegium, though, had decorations. Tapestries hung next to windows, probably waiting for winter, paintings hung on walls of important people, there was a long rug running along the center of the hallway in blue and beige, _I guess white would have stained pretty quickly._ Fish oil lamps hung at even interval, still unlit. The walls have been whitewashed, I don't think I would run my hand along them though, they looked pretty rough.

We traveled up a flight of stairs, probably servant stairs because it was a very narrow cold hallway. The light traveled as well as the sound. I could have fun singing in here. I wonder if the bards no about this hall, probably not. We exit through a door, I look back at it and notice that it blends in really well with the wall; in fact the door is probably a secret entrance or something. _Hmmm I really want to explore now! _I finally start focusing on where I am. This hallway is very well lit, the walls look smooth, the rug covers the floor and there are what seem to be magelights in slightly different colors floating in place instead of the fish oil light of down below.

Five doors down my guide stops and knocks on the door. I think that may be a pattern, but it could just be the way he knocks.

**THUMP **

I hope we didn't interrupt something. Something flutters. _Is there a bird in there?_ Someone says something that I still can't understand, they sound pretty frustrated.

The door opens and a very flustered woman answers. She has a young face, very similar to the Lady. :Selenay is the queen, this is her daughter Elspeth: Yet, she is a bit more handsome, she has wavy hair streaked with white, and a scowl on her face. She speaks very quickly, she isn't having a good day. Alberich says something and motions to me. Elspeth looks at me somewhat shocked and then smiles. The two of them talk for a bit, so I start to lean against the wall. Maybe I should play being a mute. I can't seem to talk to anyone anyways.

:Excuse me:

That voice sounds a lot like Elspeth so I look at her and tilt my head. :Yes? Can I help you?:

:We have a way for you to learn our language, but it is very painful.:

I smile before nodding and replying, :I know. You have dyhelli. Well not have them, but they are your friends. I know of your world. I do not know your language.:

I smile at the look on her face. She seemed really confused to say the least. :Well come in then: She retreats into the room and I follow. Alberich leaves shaking his head.

Her room is surprisingly decorated. It is as if I walked from a castle into a forest. Oh, the furniture was still there, it was just modified. There is a mask on the wall that looks like the face of an owl. The couch and cushions where covered in green and brown. In the window sill there was a large branch that was carved out so it became a pot for other plants with a large branch coming out of the side, scratched up as if a powerful bird often perched there, _Oh of course! Vree, how could I forget? He has the best timing for what he says._

I don't know how they managed to make this square room so lush and inviting, I almost want to look around to make sure there aren't any spiders, I really hate spiders. The sheer wall hangings with forest-like prints would cost a fortune here. A man walked out of a side room, standing out in his bright costume and stark white hair, I hear a tearing sound from the doorway,_ maybe it is lunch time for Vree._ He stops and looks at me for a moment, I don't think he is admiring my outfit, maybe he is looking at whatever gift brought me here.

Elspeth sits on the couch and pats the seat next to her, so I follow her suggestion and sit, _maybe I could be a mime? They certainly don't talk, do they have mimes here?_ I turn to look at Darkwind and raise my eyebrow. He then turns to Elspeth and nods at her. Then she stares at me. Not a talkative lot I see. Her eyebrows furrow in concentration and she looks even more confused than before.

I decide I am sick of silence. I reach into myself as Rive showed me and grab a "line" I turn to look at them to find their presence and "knock" on both of their shields. When they do nothing I knock harder and glare at them. Elspeth finally looks between Darkwind and I and opens a connection.

:Finally. while I am a quiet person, I really don't like all this motioning and silence. What is that look you keep giving me? I know you, both of you, have looked for my gifts and I know there is something odd. Please tell me what is going on before I decide to find the dyhelli myself.:

:You have a Gift I have not seen before. Well you have several Gifts. You can obviously mindspeak, you have a projective ability, although it is not empathy, and something else. Have you had Gift training where you are from?:

:No, we have no Gifts, no magic, we have science and knowledge. These Gifts that your country and world is so proud of would put someone in my world into an insane asylum.:

___

AN: I am having difficulty finding the Companions to these characters, can someone help me with that?

Co-Consort Daren (?), Myste(?), Dirk(?), Kerowyn(?), Dean Elcarth(?)


End file.
